Category: Human Rights

(New York) – Pakistani police have carried out mass arrests and detained more than 4,000 people in the wake of protests over the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, including members of the political opposition, Human Rights Watch said today. Police have arbitrarily detained many opposition political party members as well as people appropriately […]

(Mexico City) – Local legislatures in Mexico should promptly reform their civil codes and notary public legislation to provide an alternative to guardianship for people with disabilities and older people, more than 100 organizations including Human Rights Watch and experts said today in a letter to Congress. In 2021, the First Chamber of the Supreme […]

Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on Sunday, its 250 kilometer per hour winds tearing through low-lying shelters along the Bay of Bengal. One of the strongest cyclones to ever hit the region, Mocha brought flooding and damage to millions of people in its path. The state capital, Sittwe, bore the worst of […]

Adedeji Ebo was briefing the Security Council on the issue of Western weapons supplies to Ukraine, called by permanent member Russia – the fourth time it has been presented for discussion in light of the ongoing conflict. The Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs said the transfers of weapons systems and ammunition from […]

(Sydney) – Australia’s Labor Party government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should fulfill all rights-related election pledges and urgently deliver improvements on climate, refugee policy, and First Nations justice, Human Rights Watch said today. The Labor Party won parliamentary elections a year ago, on May 21, 2022. “While the Albanese government has made some improvements […]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will reportedly welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a leader credibly implicated in rampant atrocities, to COP28, the global United Nations climate conference, while civil society and human rights defenders will be left out in the cold. If Assad attends, it would be his first appearance at a global conference since before the […]

Next month’s United Nations Security Council elections show why competition is important. UN votes for seats on important bodies like the Security Council and Human Rights Council often make a mockery of the word “election.” They typically have little or no competition, ensuring victory for even the least-qualified candidates. On June 6, the 193-nation General […]

(Bangkok) – Bangladesh and Myanmar are organizing returns of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar’s Rakhine State without consulting the community or addressing the grave risks to their lives and liberty, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 5, 2023, Bangladesh officials, in coordination with Myanmar junta authorities, took 20 Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State […]

Salim, 42, lost everything when fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) stormed his village in the Sinjar district of Iraq in 2014. “We used to have a farm, but ISIS destroyed it,” he told Human Rights Watch. “They damaged my home and stole all of my furniture.” Since returning to his village in 2016, he […]

(Beirut) – Saudi Arabian civil society organizations, activists, and dissidents should be able to freely articulate their vision and agenda for a rights-respecting future for their country without fear of reprisals, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The two organizations stand in solidarity with Saudi people demanding a future for their country that […]